Fox Preps ‘Alvin 2’

15 Mar, 2010 By: Chris Tribbey

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CENTURY CITY, Calif. — Robert Sanchez, a father of four from Rancho Cucamonga, didn’t feel bad about pulling his kids out of school March 15 to take them to 20th Century Fox Studios. (See photos from the event.)

“It’s Alvin,” he said. “We kept them in school for an hour before taking them out, so they still have perfect attendance.”

The Sanchezes weren’t alone: Dozens of parents watched as their kids milled around the studio lot playing Chipmunk Twister, decorating chipmunk T-shirts, taking pictures with chipmunks, and singing like — you guessed it — chipmunks. It was all part of a launch party for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment’s March 30 DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases of Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel.

With the first Alvin live-action/CGI film clearing 50 million units worldwide, there was no question a second would be released, according to Mary Daily, EVP North American marketing for 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.

“This will be one of Fox’s biggest and most aggressive marketing campaigns ever,” she said, noting that a nationwide mall advertising campaign will be most noticeable. “You’ll see Alvin everywhere.”

The sheer volume of bonuses included with the Blu-ray/DVD combo pack ($39.99) and “Squeak-Along” double-DVD ($34.98) show Fox isn’t treating The Squeakquel lightly: a full 90 minutes of music-filled featurettes, sing- and dance-alongs and background on the film and the history of the Chipmunks is included in both releases. The Blu-ray adds a digital copy, music trivia, an Alvin Album Maker, a Live Lookup BD Live feature and “A-NUT-omy of a Scene,” a revealing look at how the actors interact with non-existent chipmunks during filming.

“For the value-conscious mother, the two-pack is a great buy,” said Daily, who could be seen dancing and punching the air with everyone else during one of the sing-alongs. “It has 90 minutes of bonuses, a great value.”

Producer Ross Bagdasarian Jr., whose father created the Chipmunks, said even the bare-bones, single-disc DVD ($29.98) is worth its salt, offering a film with great replay value, and laughs for both parents and children.

“It looks fantastic,” he said. “Of course we’ve only seen it about 300,000 times.”

Director Betty Thomas said she did her best to make sure the film appealed to the entire family.

“Everyone enjoys it together,” she said. “It’s fun for kids, but smart for adults.”

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